I wonder if I've outgrown the infamous "destroying my childhood" attitude so many would take to Disney trying to milk their old IP. There was a time when the "Disney Princess" brand would have made me lost faith in humanity. But I feel no hatred, no malice. No urge to settle an old score. Just emptiness.

Still, this is kind of funny. Have you seen an elephant fly...

in 3D?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Variety

If you think this is Disney's greatest April Fools joke, you haven't seen an elephant fly.

On Tuesday, the Walt Disney Company announced, via press release, plans to produce a computer-animated sequel to the 1941 animated classic, "Dumbo".

The film is slated for a full theatrical release in 2017. No staff selections have been announced.

This isn't the first time "Dumbo" was headed for a sequel. Like many Disney properties, "Dumbo 2" was originally conceived in the mid 1990's as a direct-to-video film, with an intended release date of late 2001. However, a number of factors, including the downsizing of Disney's Florida animation studios and decreased box office receipts from a string of less-than-successful theatrical films, put the project into development hell. In 2006, the project was cancelled by John Lasseter when he was elected as Disney's Chief Creative Officer.

"The love and warmth of the original film wasn't there." said Lasseter. "If we'd fully produced [that 'Dumbo' sequel] it would have been 'Dumbo' in name only."

"This time, we're getting it right."

The timing is unusual, as in last month's annual shareholders meeting, Disney announced that a live action adaption of "Dumbo" was also in pre-production, with Tim Burton attached to the project in an unspecified role. Burton's involvement would suggest a darker, more whimsical approach to the material than would a direct sequel in the spirit of the original film.

The announcement caps off a month of ambitious announcements by Disney, who previously announced live-action adaptions of "Mulan", "The Jungle Book" and a sequel to the $1.3B blockbuster "Frozen", tentatively titled "Frozen 2".